There is no denying the massive improvement the state has seen in the government-sponsored healthcare system. Hospitals have become better equipped and treatment is almost free. Even in private hospitals treatment has become affordable for poor patients, thanks to Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY). But despite these remarkable achievements, problems in the health sector persist, primarily on account of gaping vacancies of doctors in government hospitals. Growing truancy among doctors is making the situation worse, especially in the rural belt.
If media reports are to be believed, as many as 22 out of the 66 sanctioned posts of doctor posts are lying vacant at the Jagatsinghpur district headquarters hospital. There are 89 vacancies in other community health centres (CHC) and primary health centres (PHC). The situation is forcing patients to flock to private hospitals where the costs are high. Unable to afford costly treatment, poor patients have been visiting quacks with disastrous consequences for themselves.
Even the posts of technicians such as radiologists, pathologists and lab assistants are lying vacant in certain areas. On account of vacancies, health care has been hit in several areas, with far-flung tribal-dominated areas suffering the most. In 2019 as many as 2,173 posts of assistant surgeons and 195 specialists were lying vacant in district headquarters hospitals across the state. As many as 38 posts of professors, 77 posts of associate professors and 204 posts of assistant professors in medical colleges and dental colleges were also lying vacant.
The situation has changed a lot since then, with the government filling a large number of vacancies and also offering better salaries and perks to doctors taking up jobs in state-run hospitals and health centres in the rural areas. But despite such improvements, the shortage of doctors is still being felt.
On the other hand, absenteeism among doctors working in district hospitals and health centres has been rampant, the phenomenon being most visible in the interior areas. There have also been instances of doctors being posted in hospitals and PHCs but not joining duty. The government has tried almost every trick in its bag to discipline wayward doctors, but it has only achieved partial success.
Health ministers in the past have tried to monitor the attendance of doctors in hospitals, especially hospitals located in remote areas. There were also attempts to involve Panchayati Raj representatives in the exercise which, however, triggered massive resentment among the members of the medical fraternity who continued to be defiant. Aware that private sector hospitals have been luring away doctors with hefty salaries, the state government also came up with financial incentives for medical practitioners serving in its hospitals. But even these incentives have failed to attract doctors to these hospitals in expected numbers. Now the government will have to think of some other strategy to ensure that there are not only adequate doctors in hospitals, but that they also discharge their duty honestly.
Comment here